The use of computers in society has grown significantly over the recent decades. Computers have been increasingly integrated into homes, businesses, schools, etc. The use of computers in the business world has increased dramatically. Computers are being utilized to perform numerous business functions relating to communications, advertising, accounting, etc. Computers are also increasingly used in schools to further education. Students use computers to improve their skills in multiple subjects such as math, languages, art, etc. Similarly, computers are also being increasingly used in homes to assist in numerous tasks such as personal financing matters, correspondence, etc.
The use of computer networks has likewise increased at a rapid pace. Computer networks are a group of computers connected together in order to share information and/or tasks. There are numerous types of computer networks. One example is a local area network (LAN). Computer networks within companies allow co-workers to exchange and share information from one computer to another. Business tasks are completed at faster rates because the task may be shared by multiple computers connected to the network.
Individual computer networks may be further connected with other computer networks to create a larger network. The Internet has become the largest computer based global information system which is composed of thousands of interconnected computer networks. The dramatic increase of use of the Internet has changed the way in which society functions. The Internet allows users of computers anywhere in the world to have access to the information within this massive interconnected network.
There have been numerous services that have been provided through the Internet network to users. These “online services” allow users to have access to the information being provided over the Internet. Some online services allow users to locate and purchase merchandise that is provided through the Internet network. Other online services allow users to search for and purchase airline tickets from virtually any airline carrier that has provided ticket information through the Internet network. Online services have also changed the methods in which people may communicate. One example of this type of online service is instant messaging.
Instant messaging refers to the process of exchanging text messages between two or more people. Typically, instant messaging allows users to form a list of people with whom they wish to communicate. This list is typically called a “contact list,” and most instant messaging services allow users to communicate with anyone on their contact list, assuming that the person is online at that given time. Generally, users will send an alert to those persons on their contact list who are online prior to engaging in a conversation. Most instant messaging services provide a text window where two or more users can type messages that both users can instantly view. The parties in the conversation typically see each line of text right after it is typed (line-by-line).
Instant messaging services not only allow users to send notes back and forth while online, they can also allow users to set up chat rooms to communicate with groups of users, and to share links to web sites as well as images, audio, and the like. To some people, instant messaging seems more like a telephone conversation than exchanging letters and has become very popular for both business and personal use. Instant messaging is often used as a way to avoid telephone tag, whether the communication continues as text messages or winds up as a traditional phone call.
Many of the online services provided over the Internet use a concept referred to as presence. Presence allows the user of the online service to indicate to other users of the online service whether he/she is “on-line” or “off-line.” For example, online services such as instant messaging, use presence to indicate whether the user is on-line or off-line and the availability for communication, such as “available,” “busy,” or “out-to-lunch.” Many of these instant messaging services will automatically convey an online status when the user's computer enters a certain state. For example, an instant messaging service may automatically convey the online status of “Away” when the computer shuts down or is put in the sleep or hibernate mode. Similarly, the instant messaging service may automatically convey the online status of “Available” when the computer returns to an active state from the sleep or hibernate mode or from being powered up by a user.
In addition to these online services, the increasing rate of demand for more efficient methods of communicating with others has led to the increased use of mobile telecommunications devices, such as cellular telephones. Cellular telephones provide users the ability to communicate by telephone without the restrictions of a wire-based telephone. Cellular telephone signals allow much more mobility to users of such mobile telephones.
Some mobile telecommunications devices, such as cellular telephones, also provide users the ability to engage in the numerous online services described previously. For example, cellular telephone users may participate in the online service of instant messaging. Users of cellular telephones enjoy basically the same benefits enjoyed by users of an instant messaging service on a traditional computer. Users of cellular telephones may now engage in instant messaging with multiple members of their contact list in virtually any location where the cell phone receives a signal. Cell phone users may also share images, audio, and the like that are stored in the cell phone memory through instant messaging.
Unfortunately, known systems and methods for engaging online services through mobile communications devices, such as cellular telephones, suffer from various drawbacks. Accordingly, benefits may be realized by improved systems and methods for using and accessing online services through cellular telephones. Similarly, benefits may be realized by improved systems and methods for the presence functionality inherit in many online services. Some exemplary systems and methods for online services through cellular telephones are described herein.